Improvement in looms for weaving corsets and articles of irregular form



' ulairi ty.

r ,UNITED STATES.

PATENT'A OFFICE.

WILLIAM P. BROWN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOOMSFOR WEAVING CQRSETS AND ARTICLES Ol` IRREGULAR FORM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent. No. 42,986, dated May 31,1864.

To a'Zwhom it may concern.-

Beit known thatl, WILLIAM P. BROWN, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PowerLooms for Weaving Corsets or other Articles or Goods of IrregularFormand I do hereby declare that the followin gis a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming-part of this specification, in

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a loom with my improvements. Fig. 2is a vertical sectionof the same parallel with the front of the loom.Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the same parallel with the warp.Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken parallel with the warp near theright-hand side of the loom. Fig. 5 is a side view ofthe take-up 7mechanism on a larger scale than Figs. l, 2, 3, and et.` Fig. 6 is aplan ofthe shuttle, partly in section, on a much larger scale than theother figures. Fig. 7 isa transverse section of the shuttle on a scalecorresponding with Fig. 6.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The object of this invention is the weaving by power in a continuous oruninterrupted manner, ot' corsets or other articles or goods havingmorefullness in some parts than in others. In order to do this the warpis sooperated by a Jacquard machine or other suitaable means thatin placeswhere fullness is required the weft or filling is deposited bytheshuttle through but a portion of the warp, which portion is increased ordiminished as the successive picks of llingare inserted according to theform of fullness desired, as,'

owing to the unequal length ofthe web in difrerent' parts of the widthof a web so woven, it is verydiflicult to take it up with perfect reg- Ido not attempt to take it up regularly while the weaving proceeds in buta portion of the warp, but only from time to time, when one or morepicks are deposited all across the warp. To permit the weaving to`proceed' .'n this manner in a suitable length of warp without taking up,l cause the lay to gradually recede farther and farther back in the loomas' the filling is deposited by the shuttle, so that in beating up thereed may always strike with nnvarying force, and when the weavingarrives at a convenient stage for taking up I causethe lay to advance atoncc to its original or most forward position at' the same time that thecloth istaken up. This re-v ceding and advancing movement of the layconstitute important features of'my invention.

Another part of my invention consists in the employment between the reedand the take-up apparatus of a pair of jaws, between which the clothpasses, and which grip it responds with the irregularity ot' form ofthev corsets or other articles or fabric to be woven, so that all partsof the width ot the cloth or web may be taken up smoothly and withoutleaving any objectionable slackness in any part.

Another part of my invention relates to the shuttle-drivingmechanism.Theshuttlewhich I employ is not of the dying kind, such asis commonlyused in broad weaving, but i's'iitted to the lay in a substantiallysimilar manner to the shuttles used in weaving tape and other narrowgoods, and operated by means ot' toothed racks and pinions. The shuttlethus applied having to reach right across the reed from one to anotherof two driving-pinions, requires to be of great length, and consequentlyrequires to have a great length of movement. This part of my inventionconsists in a novel mode of giving' motion to the driving-rack, wherebyI am enabled'to get as long a movement as is desirable without makingthe loom of great height. f

Another part ot'my invention consists in a novel arrangement of sprin gsand ya-rnguides within the shuttle for the purpose of drawing back theyarn into the shuttle when the weaving proceeds in but a portion of thewhole wid th of the warp, and so preventing any slack filling being leftin the warp.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and usemy invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and opera-tion.f

A is the framing of the loom. B is the breast-beam. C is the lay, havingits swords C' G' suspended from fixed centers a a at the top of theframing. a is the reed. b b is the warp shown in red color. This,instead of being supplied from a beam,is supplied from a number ofspools, c c, Fig. 3, at the back of the loom, and passes up over rails dd or roll ers in the form of loops with weights E E suspended from them,as shown in Fig. 3. These weights preserve a uniform tension and allowthe warp to be drawn forward in sufficient quantity when the taking upof web, as hereinbefore described, takes place. e e indicate theharness, and F the lower knot-board of the J acquard machine. Theremainder of the Jacquard machine is omitted, as its' representation 4isnot necessary for the illustration of my invention. Gis the crankshaftby which the lay is driven. Gf Gl are its cranks, and G4 G4 are theconnecting-rods connecting the said cranks with the lay. rlhis shaft,instead of working in stationary journal-boxes, as in other looms, hasits journal-boxes G2 G2 fitted to slide back and forth on suitable wayson the side frames o f the loom for the purpose of producing thereceding and advancing movements of the lay for the purpose hereinbeforeexplained. The shaft G is geared by a pair of spur-gears, G3 H3, with ashaft, H, arranged below and parallel with G in fixed bearings, and thegear H3' also gears with a spurgear, 13, on the main shaft l of the loomto which the drivingpower is applied, the latter shaft being arranged inrear of Hin fixed bearings. The crank-shaft receives rotary motionthrough the gears I3 H3 G3. The movement of the boxes G2 G2 back andforth is not sufficient to cai ry the gear G3 out of gear with H2, andtherefore does not interfere with the rotary motion of the crank-shaftG.

g g are two screws arranged parallel with the sides of the loom, onenear each side for producing the movement ot' the boxes G2 G2 back andforth. These screws are made with journals at their ends, and thesejournals are so fitted to fixed bearings g2 g2, secured to theloom-framing, that though they are free to turn they cannot movelongitudinally. Their screw-threads, one being left handed and the otherright handed, are received within nuts g g' attached to their respectiveboxes G2 G2, so that the rotary motion ofthe screws causes the boxes tomove back and forth. The said screws are furnished with bevel-pinions g3g3, ge arin g with two bevelgears,l 3 J3, upon a shaft, J, whichisarranged parallel with the main and crank shafts in suitable fixedbearings, the said gears being arranged to turn the two pinions inopposite directions, so that when set in operation the two screws willact to move the boxes G2 G2 and crank-shaft G in the same direction,either back or forth. lhe only reason for making one screw righ a-nd theother left handed is that, owing to |heir arrangement, they could notboth be conveniently geared to turn in one direction at the same time.The rotary motion of the sha-ft J and gears J3 J3 to produce thereceding movement of the boxes G2 G2, shaft, and lay, is obtained from acam, H', on the shaft H, the said cam operating upon a lever or treadle,K, which is attached to a fulcrum, k, (Fig. 3,) on the front part of theframing, and which carries a pawl, K', which engages with aratchet-wheel, J on the shaft J. The cam H', making one revolutionduring each stroke of the lay, raises the lever K and causes thesufficient distance in the direction of the arrow,'shown upon it in Fig.3, to make the screws g g draw back the lay a distance equal to thethickness of one pick of weft. rlhe reversed movement of the shaft J,gears J3 J3 and g3 g3, and screws g g to carry forward the boxes G2 G2and crank-shaft G, and so cause the advance of the lay when it isdesirable 1o take up, is produced by means of a large spur-gear, 12, onthe main shaft I gearing with a smaller gear, J2, on the shaft J. 'lhegear l2 is fast on the drivingshaft, but the gear J2 turns loosely onits shaft J until the time for taking up arrives, when it is coupledwith .the shaft by means of a sliding clutch,`J4, Fig. l, which is thenbrought into gear with it by the action of a lever, J5, which isattached by its fulcrum-pin f to the back of the frame, and which isoperated by means of a cord, h., Fig. l, connected with and actuated bythe Jacquard machine, another cord, i, connected with and actuated bythe same machine, coming into operation just of gear with theratchet-wheel. The forward movement of the crank-shaft and advance ofthe lay must be produced in less time than is occupied by one revolutionof the said shaft, and therefore it is desirable not to have the layrecede farther than can be avoided. l prefer never to let it recede morethan about an inch and a quarter, but in many parts of the work it neednot recede nearly so much, and in plain parts, in which the lling isinserted through the whole width of the warp, it may be allowed torecede during four or eight picks of the shuttle and then advance again.Where a long piece of irregular work comes in, the lay may be allowed toadvance and the work be taken up at any time by inserting one or twopicks of filling through the whole width ofthe warp, after which therereceding movement may commence again. When, however, the weavingproceeds al1 across the warp for any considerable number of picks, it isnot necessary to have the lay recede, as the take-up may operate atevery fourth, sixth, or eighth pick. The advancing and recedingmovements are entirely under 3; manantial pawl to turn the ratchet wheeland shaft J a` previously to draw back the pawl K' out the control ofthe Jacquard machine. The crank-shaft, when it moves forward, alwayscomes to the same position, where it is stopped by the clutch J4, beingthrown out of gear from the gear J2 by means of a bellerank lever, J6,Fig. 1, which works on a fixed fulcrum, j, at the right side of theloom-framing. This lever is hooked to the crank-shaft, and, as the saidshaft moves forward,it is made to press the lever away from the gear J2and draw away the clutch. 'When the shaft J is thrown out of gear from,l the Jacquard machine allows the cord t', which is connected with thepawl K', to drop and let the said pawl come into operation again toreproduce the gradual receding movement of the crankshaft and lay. Thereceding and advancing movements do not interfere with the usual regularvibration of the lay, as the rotary motion of 'the crankshaft isuninterrupted.

L' Z2 Z3, Figs. l and 3, are take np-rolls, three in number, arranged infixed bearings in two plates, L L, which are secured to the breastbeamB. These rolls will be hereinafter more fully explained.

M M' are the jaws by which the cloth is held smooth between the reed andthe takeup rolls. The length of these jaws is somewhat greater than thewidth of the web, so that they extend all across it. The upper jaw, M',is fitted with a series of sharp pointed pins, n a, to penetrate thecloth and keep it from slipping back, and in the upper face. of `thelowerjaw, M, there is a series of holes or a longitudinal groove for thereception and protection of the points of the said pins. The lower jawhas attached to and extending all across it a straight wire, m, underwhich the cloth passes, and which serves to pull the cloth oftl the pinsa n of the upper jaw when the jaws open, and so leave it free to bedrawn through the jaws by the action of the take-up rolls, aided by theaction ot' the reed. The upper jaw, M', is attached at its en ds to therear ends of two levers, N', which work on fixed fulcrum-pins p',secured in the plates L L, and the lower jaw, M, is attached to thelfront ends of two similar levers, N working on fulcrum-pins p, securedin the said plates. The front ends of the levers N N' are connected byrods q q', with two disks, P0 P2, which are fast on a horizontalrock-shaft, P, which is arranged below the take-up rolls in suitablefixed bearings, the connections of the rods from the two jaws being madeon opposite sides of the centers of thedisks, as shown in Fig. 3, thatby turning the said rock-shaft in the direction of the arrow marked onthe disk P, which is visible in Fig. 3, thejaws may be opened, and byturning it in the opposite direction they may be closed. The saidrockshaft is furnished with an arm, l", under which there is applied aspring, P3, which always presses it upward, and so tends to turn therock-shaft in the opposite direction to the arrow shown upon the disk P0in Fig. 3, and thereby keep the jaws closed.

The said arm `P' has suspended from it a hook, P4, Fig. 4, closeto oneside of which there is arranged a lever or treadle, P5, which isdepressed by a cam, H2, on the shaft H, once during every revolution ofthe said shaft and crank-shaft, and raised again by a spring, r. leveror treadle is furnished with a projecting pin, k, which is capable ofengaging with the hook P4; but the said hook hangs out of the way of thesaid pin untiljust before the proper time for the take-up to take place,when the said'hook is pulled forward by a cord, k', which connects itwith the Jacquard machine, to a position to catch the pin 7c in the nextdescent of the treadle P5. The said pin then depresses the hook andpulls down the arm P', thereby turning the rock-shaft P in the directionof the arrow shown on the disk P0 in Fig. 3 and opening the jaws. As thefirst backward movement of the reed takes place the treadle P5 rises andallows the jaws to be closed again by the spring P2, and they remainclosed until the take-up is about to operate again, when they areopened, as before described.

The take-up rolls l' Z2 l2 may be each one of piece or divided intransverse planes into several pieces orsections. The irregularity ofthe form of their longitudinal profile is shown in Fig. l. Thisirregularity of form is to be varied according to the irregularity ofthe form of the article to be woven. The rolls represented are forcorsets, which are woven so that the width of cloth or web forms thelength of the corset. The fullness for the breast and upper parts ofthebody, and for the hips and lower parts of the body, is thus brought tothe two sides ofthe web and makes the sides much longer than the centralportion, which formsl the waist. To accommodate this form of goods, therolls are made smallest at or near the middle of their length, andgradually increase in diameter toward their ends in proportion as thefullness makes the length of the cloth or wel) greater toward theselvages. The three rolls are alike, and of a length slightly less thanthe width of the web, and a loose metal washer, furnished with sharppoints at its edges, is applied at each end of the roller to make up alength equal to the full width of the web and keep the web extendedlaterally and prevent it from drawing down to the smaller portions ofthe rolls, as it has a natural tendency to do. The three rolls aregeared together by spur-gears t t tat one end, as shown in Fig. 5, sothat all are compelled to rotate together at the same speed, the twoupper ones, l' L3, rotating in the same direction, and the lower one,l2, in the opposite direction. The power to turn them is applied to aratchetwlleel, u., on the lower roller, l2, by means of a long pawl, u',which is attached to the disk P2 ot the rock-shaft P. The rollers arenot rigidly secured upon their respective shafts, but fitted thereto insuch manner as to produce a sufficient amount of friction to make themturn with the shafts and take The said up the cloth, but also to permitthe shafts to turn without them in case of the movement given to theshafts being greater than is necesv sary to take up the quantity ofcloth woven since the last previous operation ot' the takeup; and incase the rollers are made of a number of separate sections, each sectionmust be so applied as to be driven separately by the friction oi" theshaft, and to stop when its respective portion of the web has been takenup. The movement given to the takeup rolls by the pawl u is always thesame, whatever be the quantity of cloth to be taken up, and hence thenecessity of the rollers being capable of slipping upon the said sha-tt.The said movement must always be fully sufficient to produce thegreatest required amount of operation of the take-up. The cloth passesover the top of the irst roller l', under the second l2, and over thethird Z3, and thence to a drum, Q', on which it is rolled up loosely asfast as it is delivered thereto by the take-up rolls by the action of aweight, Q4, which is suspended from a cord, Q2, which is attached to apulley, Q3, secured to one end of the said (lrum, and which passesthrough suitable guidesunder the lay and shaft G and over the upperrails, d d, ot the frame, the said weight and cord turning the drum inthe direction of the arrow shown on the pulley Q3, in Fig. 3. As, owingto the take-up rolls being driven by friction, they will not havesufficient power to draw the whole web forward without aid, the jaws M Mdo not open, nor do the take-up rolls operate till the lay beats up,when the reed assists the action of the take-up rolls and the jaws closeagain before the lay swings back.

It is the shuttle, having grooves in its upper and under sides toreceive the edges of the boards or blocks v e', which are bolted to thelay. In the under side ot' this shuttle there is a sunk rack, whichgears with the pinions w w', which work in recesses in l(he lower board,c', and which also gea-r with the drivingrack S, which is fitted toslide lengthwise within the lay, and which is connected by two cords orstraps, e' 00, with a pulley, lll, which is arranged to turn freely on apin, j, which is secured in a fixed standard, T erected upon the lay,the said cords or straps running round the said pulley in oppositedirections and being 'fastenedtheretm so that by turning the said pulleyin one direction it will wind up the cord or strap a7', thereby moving'the drivin g-rack to the right and causing the pinions fw fw to drivethe shuttle to the left, and by turning the said pulley in the otherdirection it will wind up the cord or strap x, thereby moving thedrivingrack to the left and causing the pinions to drive the shuttle tothe right. The movement of the pulley T is produced by two cords orstraps, z z, which work upon a smaller pulley, U, Fig. 2, fastened tothe said pulley T. These vcords or straps z e pass round the said pulleyT in opposite directions, and each is fastened at one end to the pulleyU, and at the other endV to the lower end of one of two hooked slides,y

W W', which are arranged to work up and down in guides 10 10 in a frame,G2, attached to one of the swords of the lay. The upper ends of thehooked slides W W are coni nected with opposite ends of a cord or strap,11, which passes over a pulley, X, at the top of the frame C2. Behindthe said hooked slides there is arranged in the guides 10 10 a thirdslide, VVi, which is furnished with a pin, 14, and is connected by arod, 13, with a crank, 15, on the end ot' the crank-shaft G. The rotarymotion of the crank 15 produces a reciprocating rectilinear motion ofthe slide IVit, and in every descent of the said slide its pin 14catches in the hook 12 of one of the slides WV Wl and draws it down withit, causing the cord or strap 11 to draw up the other of said slides,and so causing the pulleys U and T to be turned in one direction, andthe movement ot' the shuttle in one direction to beproduced. During theascent of the slide the slides W WV', and all their connections, remainstationary, and the shuttle is stationary on one side ofthe reed, and inthe next descent of the said slide W* it catches the hook 12 of theother ofthe two slides W( W and pulls it down, thereby drawing up theslide W or XV', previously depressed, turning the pulleys U and T in theopposite direction to that last mentioned, and producing the movement ofthe shuttle in the other direction. The two pulleys T and U, being at`tachcd together, might be considered as portions ot' the same pulley,and, in fact, will generally be made in one piece.

By the employment for actuating the shuttle-driving rack S of a pulleyor pulleys, T U, applied and operating as described, I am enabled toreduce the height of the loom much below what it would require to bewith the usual mode of actuating the driving-rack by means of a systemof hooked slides and pulleys, as by reducing the size of the pulley ordo not require to have the movement of the drivin grack and shuttle. Incase of two shuttles being used there will be a substantially similarapparatus at each side of the loom, but the positions of the pulleys andslides will have to be reversed, the pulleys being arranged above theslides.

My improvement in the shuttle is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. In ordertoapply it the shuttle is made a little wider than usual to' obtain agreater width for the opening 19, in which the quill 16 is received.turn loosely on its spindle 17 in the usual manner, and a pad, 1S, facedwith fur or some other soft material, and attached to the shuttle by aspring, 27, is applied to produce upon it a sufticient degree offriction to prevent it from being turned too easily. In the back part ofthe opening 19 there are attached to i the shuttle by loops ,of softmaterial two yarn portion of the pulleyU below that of T, I

hooked slides so long as the movement ot' the I The quill istted to Vguides, 20 21, consisting of glass rings, and in the front part of thesaid opening there is attached, in a similar manner, a similar guide,22. There are also two other similar guides, 23 and 24, attached to longand light spiral springs 25 26, which are arranged lengthwise of theshuttle in cavities provided for their reception in the body thereof atthe ends of the opening 19. The springs 25 26 and the cavities providedfor their reception are long enough to allow a great range to the guides23 24. The yarn passes from the quill through the guide 20, thence toand through the guide 23, thence to and through the guide 24, thence toand through the guide 2l, and thence to and-through the guide 22, bywhich it leaves the shuttle. spiral springs 25 26 are in their normal orcontracted condition, shown in Fig. 6, they should hold the guides 23 24at a distance apart equal or nearly equal to half the width of the goodsto be woven, so that there will be taken up or held back between thesaid guides and the guides 20 21 a length of yarn nearly equal to thewidth of the goods. The springs being in the above condition, when thepull comes on the yarn as the shuttle is driven across the warp, thespiral springs extend easily and permit the guides 23 24 to be drawntoward each other. Now, the friction produced upon the quill by the pad18 is sufcient to prevent any yarn from being given oft' from it whileany remains held back by -the springs and until the guide 23 has come incontact with the guide 20 and the guide 24 in' contact with the guide21, and any further movement of the said guides 23 24 is prevented. Theyarn will then draw otl'from the quill. When the shuttle commences toreturn across the warp, and there is a tendency of the yarn to becomeslack, the springs 25 2.6 draw back the guides 23 24, and so take up ordraw back through the guide 22 and into the shuttle the yarn which wasleft between the said guide and the web at the termination of theprevious pick. It is by this taking back and letting out the lillinginto and from the shuttle that the leaving of any slack filling in theweb is prevented, as whether the weaving proceeds in the whole width orever so small a portion of the width of the web, the quant-ity given offrom the quill or bobbin is equal to what is required for such width,and a uniform ten- .When thel sion of the filling is preserved. Insteadof the ring-guide 22, there may be provided in the shuttle an eye, 28,as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 6, for the passage of the yarn Y fromthe shuttle.

The loom may be constructed wide enough for weaving several webs at thesame time, as in weaving tape and other narrow goods, the severalharnesses being connected with one Jacquard machine; and it is moreespecially to provide for the weaving of several webs that I use thekind of shuttle and shuttlemotion herein specified, and not aflyingshuttle.

I do not confine myself to the use of the screws g g, or any particularmeans of producing the receding and advancing movements of the lay, asvarious means of effecting this result might be successfully used; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. Causing the lay to gradually receed in the loom as the weavingproceeds for a certain distance without any operation of the takeup, andafterward causing it to advance simultaneously, or nearly so, with theoperation of the take-up, substantially as and for the purpose hereinset forth.

2. The employment between the reed and the take-up apparatus of a pairof jaws, M M, applied and operating substantially as and for the purposeherein set forth.

3. The employment, in a loom for weaving corsets or other goods ofirregular shape, of a series of take-up rolls, l Z2 Z3, having alongitudin al prole of irregular form corresponding with theirregularity of the form of the goods, and operated substantially as andfor the purpose herein speciiied.

4. Transmitting motion from the hooks W W to the driving-rack S of theshuttle operating mechanism by means of a pulley or pulleys, T U, andfour connecting cords or straps, :v fr z z', applied and operatingsubstantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

5. The guides 23 and 24, and their connecting-spring's 25 and 26,applied within the shuttle, to operate substantially as and for thepurpose herein specified.

WILLIAM P. BROWN.

Witnesses:

THos. J. DOUGLAS, GEO. W. REED.

